Water Through Sand
by With A Smile
Summary: In the end, this is how I feel. Cloud x Tifa.


**A/N: **Ahh, a good ol' Valentine's Day fic. I bet you all have read your fair share lately, so an extra load of cookies for those of you who take the time to plow through mine :P

I know I said I'd do something different for my next fic in my last fic, but that'll come next, I promise!

Set post AC, and please enjoy :)

**Disclaimer: **Don't own Final Fantasy VII/it's characters, or Valentine's Day...

* * *

**Water Through Sand**

_Happy Valentine's Day, Tifa, _Cloud though as he spurred Fenrir onwards, hoping to reach the bar before dusk. He wasn't planning anything huge or extravagant- he hadn't even bought her chocolates. Cloud just didn't know how to go about romantic things like that.

Hopefully she'd forgive him for that.

Then again, she'd already forgiven him for a countless amount of things.

The sun bled pink and orange stripes across the sky, smearing it with streaks of fading daylight as Cloud raced past Healin.

Edge approached as the sun sank smoothly under the horizon, and Cloud sighed. It'd be dark before he reached 7th Heaven.

There was another thing Tifa had to forgive him for.

The gray buildings of Edge loomed ahead as Cloud sped up, racing down the streets, zipping by couples holding hands and strolling down streets, as well as the occasional angry pedestrian, bitter with no one to cuddle up with.

Everything became one great gray smudge as Cloud attempted to coax Fenrir even faster, expertly navigating the twists and turns of the roads.

He roared down the street that 7th Heaven was on. The sun had set awhile ago, the bar was closed, and Cloud felt a pang of guilt, but he told himself Tifa would forgive him.

As usual.

He pulled up in the alley beside 7th Heaven, killing the engine and slipping off. Cloud patted Fenrir's seat in a friendly manner. The motorcycle was his faithful servant, and he treasured it immensely.

Cloud paused before pushing open the door, wondering what he'd see when he pushed it open, and preparing what he'd say to Tifa.

He didn't get a chance to properly organize his thoughts before the door swung open and Denzel barreled out with a cry of:

"Cloud!!"

Cloud grunted slightly as Denzel slammed right into his abdomen, but couldn't resist a small smile as Denzel turned his head up, grinning widely.

"You're home early," a voice that made Cloud's insides prickle commented.

_Early? I thought I was late…_ Cloud thought as he turned to glance at the dark-haired beauty leaning against the door frame.

"I… yeah, I guess I am." Marlene came dashing out before Tifa could reply, though, and ran right up to Denzel (calling out a quick "Hi Cloud!" on the way) and whispering something in his ear, which caused Denzel's eyes to widen ever so slightly before his grinned changed to that of a child who thought he was very much in the know, and he and Marlene ran back into the bar without another word, pausing only once to glance back at Cloud and Tifa, giggling.

_Marlene's smarter than I give her credit for,_ Cloud mused, but banished all thoughts as he realized he was alone with Tifa now, and this was the moment he should probably say something along the lines of 'Happy Valentine's Day, Tifa'.

"… Happy Valentine's Day, Tifa."

Cloud wasn't one for creative improvisation.

"Thanks, Cloud. Happy Valentine's Day to you too." Tifa's eyes twinkled, lively and playful. They were the most animated Cloud had seen in the past few months.

Maybe Valentine's Day wasn't so bad.

"Oh! I almost forgot. I got you a present." Tifa disappeared into the bar, and Cloud stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. The pang of guilt extended to a very large wrench in his chest, for he hadn't planned out very much for Valentine's Day, and he certainly hadn't bought her anything.

He also noticed that Denzel and Marlene were conveniently absent.

She handed him a rectangular box, wrapped meticulously with plain red wrapping paper.

"Go on, open up," she encouraged him. Cloud undid the ribbon surrounding the box and tore open the paper, surprised at his own nervousness and excitement at what he was going to get.

He opened up the box to find…

"It's a new pair of sunglasses."

"I know Valentine's Day should be all goopy and romantic, but I figured you wouldn't like that mush, so I got you something you needed, since you broke your other pair." Tifa was blabbering a bit, but Cloud didn't care.

They were exactly like his old ones, except with thicker sides to offer more protection.

They were the perfect gift for him.

"Thanks, Tifa." He nodded, wishing he could say something more to show his gratitude, but words didn't come easily to Cloud, especially after spending so long unsure of how to communicate with her.

"I… didn't really do anything for you for today," Cloud admitted, feeling horribly ashamed.

"What? No, no, it's fine Cloud. Really. Just you being home right now is enough." Tifa reassured him. Cloud thought he saw a trace of disappointment in her eyes, but when he blinked, it was gone.

Tifa was good at hiding her emotions.

Almost as good as Cloud.

"Well… I did sort of plan a trip. Sort of." Cloud felt awkward, unsure of how Tifa would react.

"A trip? Where to, Cloud?" her voice was polite and interested, but it conveyed none of her feelings, and by now Cloud could do nothing but plow bravely on.

"It's… kind of a surprise. I got Vincent to come and watch Denzel and Marlene for the rest of tonight and tomorrow, so that's okay. You know, if you want to go." Cloud felt incredibly silly, like he was just another one of those overly cheesy guys who tried too hard. Still, if she agreed, it'd make it all worth it.

"Tonight and tomorrow? That's something of a long trip you're planning, isn't it?" Tifa smiled lightly, but there was a definite trace of excitement in her voice.

"Yeah, kind of."

"… Well then we'd better start soon." Tifa paused before adding, "thank you, Cloud. For doing this."

Cloud felt that funny prickle in his chest again, only it was multiplied by about fifty this time.

"Let me go tell Denzel and Marlene, okay? When d'you think Vincent'll be here?"

"He should be here any minute now. We can wait for him, if you like," Cloud offered.

"No, it's okay. Let me go talk to Denzel and Marlene. I'll be ready in a second." Tifa vanished up the stairs, leaving Cloud to stand in front of the bar counter, unable to articulate quite how he was feeling in this tangle of emotions.

But happiness.

There was definitely happiness there.

-x-

Cloud sat on a barstool, thinking about what the dangers were of leaving Denzel and Marlene home alone until Vincent arrived. He'd called Vincent when passing through Kalm, and he'd said he was on his way, so it couldn't be long before he got here.

Because today, just today, he wanted to be selfish and have Tifa for himself for as long as possible.

He was still thinking when Tifa came back downstairs.

"Well, I'm ready, Cloud. Wanna get going?" Cloud nodded, sliding off the barstool and allowing Tifa to walk in front of him.

And together, they headed out of the door and into the darkness of the night.

-x-

It had to be nearing midnight now.

Tifa was riding on Fenrir behind Cloud, her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, hair flapping in the fierce wind. It was chilly now, but Tifa's arms remained comfortably warm, and Cloud felt her slow, steady breathing. They had stopped trying to converse an hour or so back, because it was too hard to try to be heard over the roaring wind.

They were fast approaching the ferry that would take the two across the sea and to Costa del Sol, where Cloud planned on renting a room.

"Tifa?' he called out suddenly.

"Hmm?" she replied, her voice sounding very quiet and distant thanks to it catching in the wind.

"Oh, nothing. I just…" what had Cloud said her name for, anyways?

He felt Tifa smile into his back.

"It's okay, Cloud."

Cloud shifted slightly in his seat, her hair flying around and tickling the nape of his neck. He didn't reply, because maybe all he'd wanted to hear was Tifa's voice and to make sure she was still there.

It was a silly worry, considering he could feel her arms around him, but one he still had anyways.

It was just something Cloud had to make sure of.

-x-

_Happy late Valentine's Day, Tifa_, Cloud thought as he leaned against the back of his hard plastic seat on the ferry. The ticking clock on the wall facing him reminded Cloud that it was no longer Valentine's Day, and that he hadn't given Tifa's present to her on time.

That was okay, nothing was ever on time.

He hadn't been expecting himself to be, either.

Tifa was in the seat next to him, dozing off, her head occasionally lolling over and dark strands of hair brushed Cloud's shoulder before she subconsciously jerked her head back up again, and the routine started all over.

_There's barely anybody on the ferry,_ Cloud commented to himself, reduced to thinking mundane things to pass the time, like if every third tick on the clock was louder than the rest (it wasn't), how many floor tiles there were in his sitting area (6,744), if the elderly man sitting eight seats down was asleep or not (he was), if the captain of the ferry got paid extra for working the midnight ferry on Valentine's Day (he didn't), or if Tifa's head would ever just rest on his shoulder for good (somehow, Cloud didn't think it would). It was as if an invisible puppeteer was yanking on Tifa's strings, reminding her that this man had never shown one iota of affection for her and that she shouldn't be laying her head on his shoulder and giving him a reason to, and giving abrupt tugs to straighten her head up again every time it threatened to come to a stop on Cloud's shoulder.

"'Scuse me, but we're about to dock. You'd best go fetch your bike, sir." It was a deck hand, tall and gawky, shuffling his feet nervously at the stony aura Cloud gave off.

"Thanks," Cloud grunted. He had to head down to the bottom storage level to grab Fenrir and roll him off the ramp leading onto the docks. He hoped Tifa would know where he'd gone, because he didn't have the heart to wake the sleeping brunette.

Cloud headed down three flights of shiny metal stairs before reaching the small holding area for motorbikes and other forms of transportation that passengers wanted to bring to the other side but were too big for the sitting area.

Cloud felt like chuckling at the sight of Fenrir taking up most of the space. Motorbikes like his didn't usually make their way onto tiny communal ferries.

He wheeled it out of the holding area and up the three ramps that led to the surface, and upon finding that the ferry had already docked, he quickened his pace in order to find Tifa hurriedly. Pushing Fenrir onto the dock, he heard the old, rotting wooden boards creaking in protest at its heavy weight.

Cloud found Tifa sitting down further along the dock, her feet dangling over the side and staring into the murky depths, watching at the moon's shining counterpart that sparkled in the deep black waters.

He stood over her, and she switched her gaze to his reflection for a moment or two before speaking.

"This was really nice of you, Cloud."

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sure." He felt awkward again, and he wished Tifa wasn't so grateful. It'd be easier to deal with her anger than her gratitude.

"Come on. Let's get a room and rest up." Cloud tried to avert the subject of his doing something sweet and romantic as best he could. He liked making Tifa happy, but he didn't know what to say in the face of thanks. Maybe it was because he never did feel like he deserved it.

"Costa del Sol isn't our destination?" Tifa asked with genuine surprise.

"No. We've still got a bit to go, so you'd better get some sleeping done," Cloud replied.

"… Hmm. All right." Tifa stood up, dusting off the seat of her pants before heading down the dock, with Cloud wheeling Fenrir at his side.

-x-

The Costa del Sol inn wasn't cheap, but Cloud coughed up the 200 Gil required and the two booked their room.

Unfortunately, there was a minor hitch in their plans.

There was only one bed.

Dumbfounded, Cloud couldn't imagine sharing a bed with Tifa. It may have been Valentine's Day, but they were hardly a couple. And Cloud feared all sorts of romantic Valentine's Day mush, and this had to be classified as "romantic V-Day mush".

"Let's just… ask them to bring up a cot," Cloud suggested, trying to keep his voice even.

"The couch would be more comfortable than a cot," Tifa pointed out agreeably, sensing Cloud's obvious discomfort.

"Oh. Right. Okay then. Do you want to shower first?" Cloud quickly tried to navigate away from the subject. Somehow it always seemed like he was dodging uncomfortable subjects and the things he feared, the things he wanted to avoid.

"Nah, go ahead. I'm just going to relax for a second." Tifa stifled a yawn and smiled sleepily at Cloud.

Cloud wished his chest would stop prickling.

-x-

When Cloud got back from his shower, blonde spikes damp in a way he'd never show people in public, he found Tifa asleep on the sofa, one arm draped loosely over the edge of the couch, and the other wrapped around a couch pillow. One of her legs was curled up, but the other lay flat. She looked utterly exhausted.

Tifa worked hard, too. Being the mother of two rambunctious kids, as well as running the bar and taking care of their family demanded a lot of energy.

Cloud never did truly appreciate all that she did for everybody else, and always taking care of herself last.

He frowned slightly. She didn't look particularly comfortable lying there on the couch, so after a moment's hesitation, Cloud stepped forward, bent down, and scooped up the sleeping Tifa. Holding her as gently as possible, he padded lightly over to the bed and deposited her there. He pulled up the covers around her chin, and she shifted slightly in her sleep, burying herself deeper in the downy pillow and thick, warm sheets.

Cloud stared unabashedly at her for a moment.

Then, he turned away quickly when he realized what he was doing.

When Tifa woke up the next morning, she found Cloud sleeping soundly on the couch.

-x-

"Cloud, how did I end up on the bed when I distinctly recall falling asleep on the couch?" Tifa asked teasingly as the two sat on the Costa del Sol beach, eating their breakfast.

"I thought you looked sort of uncomfortable, so I moved you," Cloud mumbled. He felt embarrassed at being embarrassed. Tifa obviously didn't mind all of this romantic junk- why did he?

"Well, that was very gentlemanly of you, Cloud Strife." Tifa grinned.

"Yeah, I guess so." Cloud nibbled on his hot dog. Cloud generally ate cereal for breakfast, and was entirely unused to have anything else for his first meal of the day. The hot dog tasted funny to him, just because he was eating so early.

Tifa sucked down her milkshake and had already polished off her own hash brown and hot dog. It really felt like more of a lunch, considering the blindingly bright sun and peerless blue sky, despite the fact that it couldn't be later than nine.

Then again, it always looked like this in Costa del Sol.

"You ready to go?" Cloud asked, swallowing the rest of his hot dog in one big gulp, deciding not to be so tentative about it anymore.

"Oh, but I love Costa del Sol," Tifa sighed happily, collapsing backwards on the warm white sand. The two weren't even dressed for the beach, but Tifa didn't seem to care much about getting her shirt and pants all speckly from the sand.

Lazy beachgoers and daring surfers all laughed and frolicked in the sunshine, and it couldn't help but make Cloud wonder if he took life too seriously.

"Just another five minutes, please," Tifa murmured, already drowsy from the intense heat and idealistic weather.

"Five minutes," Cloud conceded, leaning back against an umbrella that had been propped up there.

_Just… five minutes. But then we have to be going. I don't want to be late anymore._

-x-

The sun was high in the sky now, and Cloud pushed Fenrir forward. He didn't want to take that obnoxiously long. He wasn't sure how well Vincent could handle Denzel and Marlene for more than twenty-four hours.

He was heading south, and he could tell from Tifa's sudden lack of talkativeness and the clamminess of her arms around his waist that she realized they were heading in the direction of the Gold Saucer, the scene of their first "date".

_Hey Tifa, I'm sorry about that, by the way,_ Cloud told her silently, wishing he wasn't such an idiot when it came to feelings. She had tried to tell him something important that night and he had been too dense and confused about everything, really, to realize what she had been trying to say.

Cloud remembered her laughter, her bright, sparkling eyes, her radiant smile. He remembered her uncertainty at first, with confidence that built up during the play, but drained away like water through sand as the fireworks crackled overhead and her mouth went dry. He remembered the fireworks, the unspoken words, the colorful sparks that set fire to his heart and burned her expression that night forever into his brain. The expression of hopefulness, of loyalty and faithfulness, of friendship and maybe even…

Well, Cloud wasn't sure he wanted to continue that thought.

His heart just might explode from regret.

-x-

They had arrived.

It was dark and a smattering of stars had lit up the night sky, just like that one memorable night they had spent together here.

Nibelheim.

The well.

Promises.

Cloud watched Tifa place her hands on the well, running her slender fingers over the rocky surface. He wished he could see her face, some indication of how she was feeling, but her dark tresses shielded her face from Cloud's eyes.

He remembered how the stars had looked so beautiful that night, tiny pinpricks of hope and wonder, and yet he hadn't been able to keep his eyes off of the vision of the girl sitting next to him.

He remembered his nervousness, his fear of her not arriving at all, of not wanting to see him, of being rejected. It had started back then, Cloud thought, his hard outer shell. He didn't want Tifa to see him as weak, and he had to cover up his sentiments because in his childish mind, emotions could only weaken you. It was so much harder to take the hurt than to just pretend like you couldn't feel anything at all.

But because the shell was all for one person and one feeling for her, there was one feeling that had always penetrated his ridiculously thick emotional walls.

Cloud had felt it so strongly then, and he felt it now.

Except… he didn't know what Tifa was feeling.

She was gripping the sides of the well now, clutching them tightly. Was she angry? Cloud felt slightly agitated, and he wished Tifa would just hurry up and_ say_ something.

A stifled sob escaped her, and Cloud realized it. She was crying.

Crying? Was that good? Cloud wasn't sure, because the last time he had cried had been during what was one of the saddest moments he had ever been forced to experience.

But no, this was not the time to relive that particular memory.

"Tifa…" Cloud tried. "I… I'm sorry. Maybe we shouldn't have come."

A long silence.

And then she shook her head very, very slowly, so as not to disturb the tears hovering on the ends of her long lashes, that threatened to spill over, and once she shed one, the rest would have no qualms about splashing forth. And Tifa _hated_ crying.

"No, Cloud. This was… the greatest Valentine's Day present ever." She hiccupped and let out a nervous giggle.

"This is just… I remember that night so clearly. It looked a lot like today, you know?" she was regaining control of herself, but Tifa still refused to look up from the depths of the well. She didn't particularly want to face Cloud, because now the roles had reversed- she was the one stubbornly refusing to show emotions (and through that, weakness), and he was the friend who watched onwards, wishing she would just admit how she felt.

"Yeah… it did."

"It was so pretty, and then you told me you were going to head out and try for SOLDIER. I thought you were so heroic for doing so, and I wanted you to be my hero too, not just the nameless hero of the people at Shinra. I didn't… I didn't want to share you." Tifa chuckled a little. "But you agreed, and that was enough for me."

She finally looked up and smiled, a genuine one, despite the stray tear leaking down her cheek, tracing a lonely path down her face.

She looked so hopeful, just like that night at the Gold Saucer…

"I… I didn't really plan anything here," Cloud admitted. "I just thought we should come back and visit it."

"It's beautiful, Cloud. It's beautiful and wonderful and amazing and sweet and… oh, Cloud, it's _perfect_." She was positively radiating joy now.

In just a few quick strides, she stood in front of him again, and she was smiling wider than Cloud had seen in what felt like ages.

Accepting her gratitude didn't seem so hard this time.

"Hey Cloud."

"Hmm?"

"Happy Valentine's Day." She stepped forward, curling her arms around his neck, and then she was close, too close, and Cloud was enveloped in her warm, tender grasp. He wasn't even sure of what was happening…

But happiness.

There was definitely happiness there.


End file.
